


Saving Maddie

by Faith280



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: M/M, Mentions of child autism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-04 09:09:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18601444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faith280/pseuds/Faith280
Summary: Life is hectic as usual at the Grif-Simmons household. It’s about to get even more crazy. Simmons gets suckered into fostering a little baby with some big personality problems. He’s used to kids, this is easy.He finds out he is in way over his head...





	1. Chapter 1

  
“Mira, I’m not going to tell you again. Sit down and behave yourself, quit getting into everything.” Simmons had to practically drag her out from a cupboard. “That’s where Dr. Grey keeps her medical tools.”

  
“But Dad, I’m bored. Dr. Grey let’s me play with the tools anyway.”

  
Her whining was getting on Simmons’ nerves. She stayed home from school today thanks to a potential asthma attack, and he’s regretted it ever since. She had so much hyper energy, she was driving him crazy.

  
“I don’t care. Just sit and wait for the doctor to come.” He pulled her down in the chair next to his and held her there. What he really needed for her was a leash.

  
Finally Dr. Grey can flouncing dramatically through the door to save him. “Hey there Ms. Mira!”

  
“Hiii!” Mira went running to see her favorite doctor. Simmons knew how close those two were, so he let her loose. She threw her arms around Grey’s waist and gave her a big hug. Most kids hated the doctor, but Mira loved hers.

  
“Ookaay, so I hear you almost had an asthma attack this morning?”

  
“Yeah, I couldn’t breathe too good, but it cleared up.”

  
“That’s good, hopefully you’re still okay with your medication. Let’s do a checkup and see what’s going on. You know the routine by now honey.”

  
Mira had been in and out of the hospital since she was born. She had her first official asthma attack at a month old. She had struggled with it for the past four years. She knew exactly what the doctor expected if her.

  
Mira went through her breathing exercises while the doctor listened to her lungs with her stethoscope. Grey liked to chitchat as she worked.

  
“You being a good girl for your Dad today?”

  
Mira answered quickly. “Yes!”

  
At the same time Simmons said “No.”

  
Dr. Grey grinned. “Yep, that’s what I thought.”

She laid down her stethoscope. “Your lungs are sounding fine now, your inhaler did it’s job. I think you’re still fine with your prescription, but I will write one out for an antibiotic in case you need it for tonight.”

  
She scribbled out the specifications for the prescription. Mira was bored again and started looking at all the surgical tools sitting around. While her Dad and the doctor were distracted, she checked out an interesting looking bone saw.

  
Simmons turned around in time. “Mira no!” He snatched it out out of her hand. He felt like a parental super hero. He had to just to keep up with his three kids.

  
“Aww, but Dad that looks so cool.” Mira pouted over losing it.

  
“You know better than to play with sharp objects. You could have lost your hand.” He had a vice grip on her sleeve and he wasn’t letting go.

  
Dr. Grey was surprised at his concern. “Ahh, a little bone saw never hurt anyone. She’s a future a doctor, she should know how to use one.”

  
“She’s only four, no she shouldn’t know how to use one.” He looked at her like she was crazy.

  
Dr. Grey looked confused. “What girl doesn’t know how to use a saw?”

  
That would take her some time to figure out. Simmons thought this was the best time to leave.  
He had to keep Mira occupied while waiting to have her prescription filled.

He had grocery shopping to do today, but no way was he going to attempt that now with Mira. He couldn’t handle it. He would wait until later for Grif to come home. Then he could shop in peace.

  
Later at home, Mira was still bored. “When will Jake and Dex be home?”

  
Simmons groaned, he was tired of all her questions. “Not soon enough.”

  
“ I wanna play. Will you play with me Daddy?”

  
“Mira, I have so much work I have to get done as it is. Can’t you play by yourself?”

  
He turned in time to see the hurt look on her face. He couldn’t believe she really wanted to spend time with him. He felt bad for getting agitated at her earlier.

He should have been spending one on one time with her and not yelling at her all day. She dropped her head and quietly headed for her room.

  
“Mira, the cleaning can wait, what did you have in mind for us to do?”

  
She looked surprised, then her face lit up with a big smile. “How about poker?”

  
“No way! How do you even know how to play poker?”

  
She shrugged. “I don’t. Daddy said he’d teach me when I’m older.”

  
Grif had better not. “You have to be much older to play that. How about Go Fish?” He opened the drawer where they kept the playing cards and pulled out the well worn deck.

  
Mira thought about it and then nodded. “‘Kay, I like that too.”

  
Simmons fully intended to let her win, she was only four, he would build up her confidence. Not with this child, she was a lot smarter than he thought.

Her brothers always made straight A’s, while Mira’s grades were mediocre at best. Her teacher explained that she was very smart, but would never focus in school.

  
Simmons held back some during the games, but not much. Mira was really challenging him. He was so proud of her.

She was so much like Grif. She had a brain, she just didn’t like to use it. Simmons actually had fun while playing a kid’s game.

  
She kept up her endless chatter through the game. Instead of tuning it out as he often did, Simmons actually listened to her. She had a lot of imagination, she’d make a good writer. Before he knew it, Grif was home with the boys.

  
Grif collapsed in the kitchen chair beside Mira. He ruffled her hair. “How’s the invalid?”

  
She giggled “All better now. Guess what? I beat Daddy at cards today.” Her cheeks were pink with happiness.

  
Grif chuckled. “Good, he likes to hack video games when we play. Get revenge on him with card games.”

  
Simmons was all flustered. “Shut up Grif. You’re just a bad loser.”

He got up from the table. “I need you to watch the kids while I grab some groceries. I can start dinner when I get back.”

  
“Yeah yeah, you can go away now.” He gave Simmons a teasing wink.

  
“Oh by the way, what is this about you teaching the kids to play poker?”

  
Grif pretended to look innocent. “Huh? No, of course not. I would never do something like that behind your back…don’t you have shopping you needed to get to? I’m really starving.”

  
Simmons raised an eyebrow, he didn’t want Grif to know he was amused. He headed for the door and looked back. Grif was already goofing around with the kids.

  
Simmons had to smile. He had such a perfect, dysfunctional family.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Early the next morning, Simmons rushed around packing the kids’ lunches for school. He had a bagged lunch packed for Grif too, but his would turn more into a mid morning snack.

  
Dex and Jacob rushed into the kitchen, all ready for school. “Morning guys, I’ll pour you some cereal. Jake, is your sister ready yet?”

  
“Nope, she’s been in the bathroom for forever. She won’t tell me what she’s doing. She kicked me out before I was ready.”

  
Simmons sighed. “Great, I have enough trouble getting your father ready, now I have Mira to worry about.”

  
Grif slowly emerged from the bedroom. His first thoughts were to get to coffee. His family took second priority.

  
Simmons frowned at him. “Late as usual huh?” It would be nice to have some help once in a while.

  
Grif gulped down some coffee before answering. “Hey, it’s not my fault, Mira’s been hogging the bathroom.”

  
“So I heard. You want to go yell at her to hurry up?”

  
“Oh come on, I just sat down with my coffee.”

  
Simmons huffed. “Fine, I’ll go do it. Like I have to do everything else around here.”

  
Grif rolled his eyes and ignored him. He’d heard his husband’s drama routine one too many times.

  
Simmons knocked on the bathroom door. “Mira, it’s getting late. Finish up in there, you still need breakfast before going to school.”

  
There was a loud crash, then Mira’s muffled voice. “‘Kay Daddy, I’m coming.”

  
Simmons cringed. “What was that crash?”

  
It was silent, “Nothing.”

  
Yeah right. “Open the door, I’m coming in.”

  
“Ookaay.” Mira slowly opened the door and stepped out in the hallway. “I’m ready for school.”

  
Her face was all covered in makeup. She had so much glittered eyeshadow, she could hardly see. Her bright pink lipstick was smeared around her lips. There were two pink dots on her cheeks for blush.

  
Simmons was almost too shocked for words. “Wipe that stuff off your face right now!”

  
Mira looked heartbroken. “No, I worked real hard on this. Daddy bought me this makeup, I wanted to use it.” She couldn’t understand why her Dad was being so mean.

  
“You cannot go to school wearing makeup. That was supposed to be for playtime after school.”

  
Mira took a deep breath. This was the start of another of her temper tantrums. Simmons knew these all too well.

  
“No, I wanna wear my makeup!”

She went running from him, almost in tears to find Grif. He would understand.

  
She ran to the kitchen and grabbed Grif’s sleeve. “Daddy won’t let me wear the makeup you got me.” She tried to hide behind him before Simmons caught up with her.

  
Grif was in the middle of taking a drink of coffee when she came running in. He almost spit it out when he saw what she looked like. She was looking so serious about it, he tried not to laugh.

  
Dex didn’t hesitate to laugh at his sister. “You look so stupid.”

  
She shot him a dirty look. “Shut up Dex.”

  
Jacob looked worried. “You’re not wearing that to school are you?”

  
“You’re supposed to be on my side Jake.” She looked hurt, her twin betrayed her.

  
“I am, but that’s embarrassing.” He shuddered at the thought.

  
As the twins got older, they went their separate ways more, but at school, they were still close, and they had the same friends. The kids would stare at Mira if she went looking like that . She was outgoing, she didn’t care. Jacob was so shy, he couldn’t handle it.

  
Grif turned around to get a better look at Mira. “Come here. My goodness, what did you do to yourself?”

  
Simmons caught up and tried to keep his temper in check. He worried over how late it was getting. “Mira, please go wash off your face. I don’t have time to fight with you.”

  
“I wanna wear it.” She got quiet. She knew by the look on his face that her Dad was serious.

  
“Not to school you can’t. Grif, you want to help me out on this?”

  
He looked amused. “Hey, you bitched about her not being girlie enough, so here you go. Be careful what you wish for nerd.”

  
Simmons glared at him. Why did Grif always set him up to be the mean parent? Grif had no choice but to change his tone.

  
“C’mon girlie, he’s right. You can play with it after school. I’ll help you wash it off.” He turned to Simmons. “Ya big meanie!”

  
“Boys, are you guys done with your breakfast?” Jacob looked a little upset. He hated when people fought. Simmons put his hand on his shoulder. “You okay Jake?”

  
He nodded. “Yeah. I finished my cereal.” He took his bowl to the sink.

  
“Thanks buddy. Both of you get ready, we’ll be leaving as soon as I get Mira ready.”

  
Grif yelled out from the bathroom. “Oh dear god, Simmons, you don’t wanna see this bathroom.” He knew his husband would have a meltdown.

  
Simmons went in a panic to see what Mira had done. He took one look at the sink. “Mira Kai, What is wrong with you?”

  
The sink was covered with spilled makeup. That explains the crash he heard earlier. Mira looked up at him with wide eyed innocence.

“Whoops?”

  
Grif choked back a laugh. “How did you get any on your face?”

  
“Grif, you’re not helping any. Can you take the kids to school for me so I can clean up this mess before work?”

  
Grif gave him a sulky look. “If I have to…”

  
“Yes you have to. They’re your kids too.”

  
“Yeah yeah, I’ll get the twerps ready.” He was trying to be funny, but Simmons’ stress level worried him sometimes. “You need to chill out, she’s only a kid.”

  
Simmons felt a little bad. Mira went over to him and gave him a hug. She didn’t want her Dads to fight because of her.

  
“I’m sorry Daddy, I just wanted to look pretty for school. I won’t play with makeup anymore.”

  
“No honey, you can still play with it, just be more careful next time. And you look pretty without all that junk on your face.”

  
“But you didn’t think so before. You said I needed to act more like a girl, so there must be something wrong with how I look. That’s why I wanted the makeup.”

She turned to follow Grif.

  
Simmons was left standing alone and feeling horrible. His big mouth had his poor daughter feeling bad about herself. Kind of how his dad made him feel all his childhood.

  
Earlier he wanted to wring her neck now he wished he could have given her a hug to make her feel better. This was the day of hell and it only started.

  
He was miserable, he felt like such an abusive father.  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

 

Simmons’ sat in front of his computer trying to make sense of the particularly challenging code in front of him.

His lieutenant, Katie Jensen, was on the other computer, struggling over hers. He had the feeling by the end of the day, he would be finishing all of the coding himself.

  
The commotion coming from the training range wasn’t helping his concentration. What the hell was Tucker yelling about? He stepped away from the computer to find out.

  
Tucker was screaming at his least favorite solider, Palomo.

“Damn you Palomo, you are a constant source of disappointment to me. Any lieutenant should be able to hit the damned target by now.”

  
Poor Palomo was all flustered. “I’m sorry sir, I tried. I’m not used to this rifle yet. I’ll practice some more, I’ll get the sights worked in.”

  
“Forget it, you’re wasting my time and every one else’s. The more you practice, the worse your aim is. Go away, you’re done for the day; maybe forever.”

  
Jensen stuck her head out from the computer room. She hated it when her boyfriend got berated like this. She ran after him.

“Charlie wait, I’m coming with you.”

  
Now Simmons could panic, he had two jobs to do now. He was the IT manager, this was his responsibility.

“Thanks a lot Tucker, you made Jensen leave too. Let’s add in even more work for me to do.”

  
“Oh, shut up you nerd, this is real military work, not sitting on your ass behind a computer all day.”

  
Simmons was shocked, it wasn’t like Tucker to act like this. Grif came over to check out the situation.

It was okay for him to make fun of Simmons, but no one else could. He got in Tucker’s face.

  
“Lay off, it’s one thing to flip out on your solider, but don’t you dare talk to my husband like that.”

Simmons was actually touched. Grif wasn’t generally affectionate, but he was very protective of Simmons.

  
Tucker came back to reality. “Sorry guys, I’m in a really bad mood. I didn’t mean to take it out on you, or Palomo.”

  
Their scene caught Wash’s attention. As the high ranking official, he had to intervene.

“Captain Tucker, you can’t work like this, do you want to go home?”

  
“No babe, I’ll be alright. It’s just that I got another message from Junior, he isn’t sure when he’s coming home again. I feel like I’m losing my kid.”

  
Wash sighed. “I’m sorry about your son, but this is work. We can talk about all this later at home. Are you okay to be doing your job?”

  
Tucker nodded. “Yes Sir.”

  
“That’s better. You and Grif get back to work.” He turned to Simmons. “Sorry about the interruption.”

  
“That’s okay, I needed a break anyway. Kimball’s science team sent a code that’s almost untraceable. I’m in for a long day.”

  
“Well good luck.”

  
Simmons sat down at the screen again. His phone rang. What the hell, at this rate, he’ll never get done. “Hello, IT Department.”

  
Kimball herself was on the line. “Hello Simmons, I have a major favor to ask you.”

  
Simmons felt so honored. “Yes ma’am, you can ask me anything.”

  
“Great, could you delay your work to come to my office as soon as possible?”

  
“Of course ma’am, I can be right down.” What did it matter if he was stuck all night working on this code?

  
“Wonderful, see you soon.”

 

  
Simmons was so nervous standing in front of the President’s office. His palms were sweating and his heart was pounding.

“Hh…ello Ms Kimball. Yyouu wanted to see mmee?” He could hardly even speak.

  
Kimball looked up and smiled. “Yes, thank you for coming so quickly. I had a question to ask you.”

  
“Sure you can ask me anything.”

  
From the next room, a baby started crying. “Oh no, she’s awake again. Come on, this is what I want to show you.”

Simmons was confused, but he followed anyway.

  
There was a playpen in the room with a little crying baby reaching up for Kimball. “Hi Madeline, don’t cry honey, I’m here.” She held the baby, but she kept on crying. “Now you see why I need your help.”

  
“I don’t understand. Why do you have a baby here, where is her mother?”

  
He walked closer to the crying child. He knew by the way Kimball was holding her, that she she didn’t know what she was doing.

  
The closer Simmons got, the more quiet the baby got. She looked barely older than one year old. She had wavy blond hair and big blue eyes that looked so sad. She looked up at Simmons with interest.

  
“Madeline here was abandoned by her parents, not much is known about them. The woman who runs the orphanage thinks she may be slightly autistic. She is very, very shy. She needs some extra help. This is where you could be of help to us.”

  
“Why, what do you want me to do?”

  
“Would you and your husband be able to foster her for a short while? The fact that you have three children, I thought maybe your family could bring her out of her shyness so we can place her into a loving home.”

  
“Oh no, there’s no way. I have more than I can handle with my kids. Grif would throw a fit if I brought another one home.”

  
He tried not to interact with the baby, but she kept reaching towards his cyborg arm. She was mesmerized by it. He reached over to touch her hand. She flinched for a second, then she grabbed ahold of his finger.

  
She stopped crying and gave him a big smile. “Hi!” She struggled to get away from Kimball so Simmons would hold her.

  
Kimball gasped. “That was the first time I heard her talk. She is fully capable of talking, but she has emotionally shut down. She’s not happy at the orphanage. Can’t you reconsider fostering her, so far, you’re the only one she likes.”

  
At this point, Simmons was holding her and she was staring adoringly up at him. He knew he couldn’t take her home, it was time to put her down in her playpen and walk away.

“I’m so sorry, but no. I can’t take her.”

  
He didn’t make it to the door. Her ear piercing cry punctured his heart. He saw those big, sad eyes looking at him. He was so used to being a father, he couldn’t walk away from a crying child. Grif was going to kill him when he got home.

  
He reached down and picked Madeline up. She instantly shut up and cuddled up against him.

“Alright, what do I do from here?”

  
This little baby was going to make some big trouble at the Grif-Simmons house tonight.  
  


 


	4. Chapter 4

 

Simmons had the car seat Kimball got for him to use all secured in the backseat. Good thing he and Grif saved a lot of the stuff from when the twins were babies. He thought Mira’s old crib was still stored out in the shed.

  
“Ready to go see your new home honey? I have to figure out how to tell my husband about you.” Simmons didn’t want to worry…but he was worried.

  
He thought the safest way was through a phone call. Grif answered on the second ring. “What’s up loser?”

  
“Grif…we have a problem.”

  
He hesitated. “What kind of a problem?”

  
“I got a call from President Kimball. She had an emergency for me to help her with.”

  
“Ookay. Did you help her with it?”

  
“Yes, that’s why I needed to call you. The emergency was this little baby who was abandoned at the orphanage. She needed some help.”

  
He was catching on. “Please tell me you left that baby with Kimball.”

  
“Uh, not exactly. Kimball wants us to foster her for a while until we can find her a home.”

  
“Hell no, don’t you dare.”

  
“It’s too late, she’s in the car and we’re going to be headed for home.”

  
“But it’s not too late. Take her back to Kimball and life is good again.”

  
Madeline started crying. “Oh great Grif, you got her crying. I can’t take her back, none of this is her fault, why should she have to suffer for it?”

  
Grif was quiet. He didn’t want to hate a baby, but he could be ticked at his husband. “You know I seriously hate you right now.”

  
Simmons was struggling with the squealing baby and juggling the phone. “Let’s talk about when I get home. See if you can dig out the old playpen and one of the cribs from the shed.”

  
Grif sighed loudly. “Yeah yeah.” He hung up on him. That was what Simmons was expecting.

  
Simmons slipped her into the car seat and buckled her up. “Okay honey, you’ll be seeing your new home and meeting your new brothers and sister.” He was desperate to calm her down.

  
Madeline wasn’t even listening to him. She didn’t like the car seat, she didn’t want him to put her down. She was not happy at all.

  
Simmons looked back from the driver’s seat at her. “No no, don’t cry. We’ll be home soon.”

  
It was the loudest car ride of his life. Madeline wouldn’t stop crying, she continued on until they pulled onto the driveway. She only quieted down when he unhooked the car seat and lifted her up. She felt safe and sound in his arms.

  
He heard the back door open and Grif stiffly stepped out on the porch. His heart wasn’t in this, Simmons was worried. He tried to smile and look encouraging, but Grif wasn’t falling for it.

  
Madeline looked up at Grif all wide eyed. Simmons felt her shaking, she was actually afraid of him. She hid her face against Simmons’ chest so she wouldn’t have to look at him.

  
“I sent the kids to play outside so they won’t have to hear all the yelling that’s going to be going on.”

  
Simmons sighed. “Grif, be careful what you say around her. She’s acting like she’s afraid of you.”

  
“Well good, then maybe you’ll respect my wishes and take her back where she belongs.”

Grif grimaced when he said that. He was upset with Simmons, but didn’t want to take it out on the baby.

  
Simmons gritted his teeth, the baby was upset enough as it was. “If you could show some compassion for a child that has nobody in her life, maybe you wouldn’t be such an asshole. You are so selfish.”

  
Grif was fuming, and the baby picked up on his anger. She looked terrified and burst into tears again. It scared Grif. He softened his face and tried to comfort her like he did with his kids.

  
“Hey kiddo, it’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you.” He tried to touch her, and she almost screamed. He kept his distance from her and left the room.

  
Simmons gently set down in the playpen with the pink fleece blanket Kimball gave her. Grif came up behind him with a few of the twins’ stuffed animals that they haven’t played with lately.

  
Simmons glared at him, ripped the toys out of his hands and put them in front of the baby. She just sat staring at the toys then staring at Simmons. She had no idea what she was supposed to be doing.

  
“What is wrong with her? Any other kid would play with the toys or something, and she’s scared of everything. This isn’t going to work out, you know it won’t.”

  
“Kimball said she was very shy, she may be borderline autistic and she was very neglected by her parents. Add in the fact that she was ditched at an orphanage…what else would you expect of her?”

  
“I feel really bad for this kid, but I don’t know how this is our responsibility. We have our own three disasters to raise.”

  
“Right now, we’re the only ones willing to help her; at least I am.” He shot Grif a look. “Can’t you at least try?”

  
“She hates me, what am I supposed to do?”

  
“She’ll get used to you. You’re a great father, you’ll win her over. Could you seriously just turn away and take her back to a place she’s afraid of?”

  
Grif squirmed, he didn’t want to admit it. “Yeah, I guess not. But she’s yours, I got nothing to do with this.” Another worry came up. “What are you going to tell kids about her?”

  
Simmons shrugged. “Tell them the truth. They’re used to playing with other kids. They’ll get along great with Madeline.” He hoped they would. Grif didn’t look too confident.

  
Simmons looked down at the baby, she was trying to figure out what Mira’s old teddy bear was. She was home for only ten minutes and already Grif and Simmons were fighting. What would Dex and the twins really think about her?

  
Though his life was coming apart around him, Simmons could take pride that little Madeline didn’t have a care in the world. He wished he had her kind of life.

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

 

The back screen door opened and Dex peeked through to the kitchen. “Dad, when’s dinner? I’m starved.” He sounded so much like Grif when he said that.

  
Simmons sighed as he opened the refrigerator. “I’m getting out the package of hamburgers now. They’ll be ready pretty soon. Why don’t you get Jake and Mira, we have something to tell you guys.”

  
Grif was still pouting. “You have something to tell them.”

  
“Don’t start, you’re worse than all the kids put together.”

  
“I got everyone rounded up. What’s going on Dad?” Dex looked worried. He knew his parents were fighting over something.

  
Madeline chose that moment to get fussy. “We’ll be having a little visitor with us for a while. Your Dad and I will be fostering her until we can find her a permanent home.”

  
Dex understood this better than the twins did. He didn’t look happy, he went over to sit by Grif at the kitchen table.

  
Jacob seemed almost afraid of her. He still wasn’t comfortable around girls. He stood by Simmons and held his hand.

  
“It’s okay Jake, she’s only a baby. She just needs to get to know you guys better.” He gave Jacob’s hand an encouraging squeeze before going to check the baby.

  
Mira didn’t hesitate, she beat Simmons to it. She stood right in front of the baby and was ready to welcome her. “Hi there, who are you?”

  
Madeline stopped crying and looked confused, she didn’t know whether to trust Mira or not.

  
“Her name is Madeline. She’s shy, I don’t know if you should get up in her face like that. You might scare her.” He was curious to see what Mira and Madeline would do together.

  
She knelt in front of the baby. She gently took her hand and shook it. “Hi Maddie, my name’s Mira. You wanna be my little sister?”

  
Madeline still looked confused, but she didn’t cry. “Daddy, is it okay I play with her?”

  
Simmons was amazed. Out of all his kids, Mira was always the least behaved. Now here she was welcoming a strange baby into the family. He had to remember to give her more credit than he ever did.

  
Mira turned to her twin brother. “Jake, come on over and play with us.”

  
Jacob kind of shook his head. Simmons gave him a little nudge. “Give the baby a chance; for me?”

  
That did the trick. Jacob slowly went over. He bent down to look at her. She made a face and started crying. Poor Jacob went to sit by Dex and Grif. He stayed put and refused to move.

  
Madeline quieted down for Simmons, she held his hand. Her other hand held onto Mira’s. For the first time all day, she gave a real smile. Simmons was so relieved.

  
“There, she’s slowly fitting in…” He looked across the kitchen at the rest of his family. He had the feeling they weren’t going to be talking to him any time soon. At least he had the girls on his side.

  
“Mira, are you okay watching Madeline so I can make the hamburgers?”

  
“Yep, we’re friends now. But she doesn’t like the name Madeline.”

  
“Oh yeah, what name does she like?”

  
“She likes the name Maddie better.” She looked at the baby. “Don’t you?”

  
She smiled and cooed at Mira. Simmons took that as a yes. “Alright, Maddie it is then. You keep her entertained for me.”

  
As the burgers were frying, he looked uneasily at Grif and the boys. He went to set up the high chair so Maddie could join them for dinner. He hoped the boys would be okay with that.

  
He flipped the burgers on a platter so the family could make their own burgers. Grif and Dex were known to try weird toppings on their food, Simmons gave up trying to lecture them.

“Mira, come get your dinner. You can play with Maddie some more later.”

  
Poor Maddie looked so lost all alone in the playpen. Simmons went to pick her up. “Want to have dinner with your family.” She cooed and smiled, but as she got closer to the kitchen, she got tense.

  
Simmons cuddled her. “That’s your Daddy and your brothers. Don’t be shy, say hello. I know you can talk, you talked to me earlier.” She hid her face against his chest anyway.

  
She squirmed like crazy when he tried to fit her into the high chair. Spoon feeding her baby food was another experience. Either he was out of practice or she was just stubborn. She had more of the strained carrots on her face than she did in her mouth.

  
Even Grif had to laugh about it. “You think you’re such an expert on kids. I don’t remember going through that much trouble to get these guys to eat.”

  
“Well yeah, they’re half your kids. Like you, they’d never miss a meal.”

Simmons really hoped Grif would break out of his pouty mood and try to be a father to Maddie. He was getting closer, but not quite.

  
Mira affectionately chuckled at Maddie. “Yuck!”

  
Maddie thought about it for a second, then she imitated Mira. “Yuck.” She laughed back at her.

  
“Alright yucky kiddo. It’s time for your bath. You’re all sticky now.” He made a face as he lifted her out of the chair.

  
He left his dinner ice cold and untouched on the table. Grif shook his head, that was just like Simmons. He worried over everyone in his family, but he never thought about himself. Grif was feeling guilty.

  
When he heard Simmons coming back with the baby, he heated his plate in the microwave. He planned on force feeding his husband if he had to.

  
The three older kids went to Dex’s room to play a board game. That left only Grif to avoid the baby. Simmons rummaged through the baby bag that Kimball sent out with Maddie.

  
“Grif, there’s not enough diapers and formula left for her. I’m going to have to run out real quick and get some more.”

  
“How about I go get them and you stay with the kid.”

  
“No, she needs a special type of formula. You’ll either call me twenty times asking if it’s right, or come home with the wrong one and I’ll have to run it back. I’ll be gone five minutes.”

  
“But she doesn’t like me.”

  
“Maybe it’s time you get to know her. She’ll probably like you then.”

Grif looked panicked.

  
“Seriously, just watch her. I’ll be right back.”

  
No sooner was he out the door when Maddie started screaming. When Grif tried to touch her, she screamed louder. Mira came out to help.

  
“Daddy, talk real soft to her first. When she sees you won’t hurt her, she’ll like you then.”

  
Grif softened down his voice and when Maddie saw he wasn’t hurting Mira, she calmed down.

She gave him a shy, little smile. He gently picked her up and she let him. He sat with her in the recliner and rocked her. She was ready to fall asleep in his arms.

  
Simmons came through the door in a rush. He stopped when he saw Grif with Maddie.

“I still hate you for this, but the twerp is kinda cute.”

  
“Thank you Grif.”

  
Grif stuck his tongue out, but he smiled.

  
Simmons smiled back. He knew Grif would give in, he just knew it.

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

Grif nearly had Maddie asleep. He heard a commotion in the twins’ room. It sounded like Simmons was remodeling in there. He carefully laid Maddie down so she wouldn’t wake up. He had to find out what was going on.

  
Dex poked his head out in the hallway when Grif went past. “Dad, what’s going on in there?”

  
“I have no idea. But I’m gonna find out.” He stepped into the room. “Hey, What are you doing, redecorating?”

  
“I’m fixing up the kid’s sleeping arrangements while Maddie is here.”

  
He was trying to move Jacob’s bed by himself. Grif grabbed a side and helped. “Where the hell are you taking this?”

  
“To Dex’s room. Since Maddie made friends with Mira, maybe she won’t get so scared in the middle of the night.”

  
“Yeah that makes sense.”

  
Jacob watched the scene with big eyes. He didn’t want to be separated from his twin. He was always a quiet child, he was the least likely of the three kids to complain. He wanted to scream to not move him out of his own room, but he couldn’t.

  
Together, Grif and Simmons got Jacob’s bed in the bedroom with Dex. He didn’t look too happy with the arrangement either, and he wasn’t the type to be quiet about it.

  
“Why do I have to share the room with Jake? I like it here by myself.”

  
Simmons was tired and frustrated. “I know you don’t like it Dex, but it’s the only place I can put Jake. We need the extra room for Maddie. There’s no place else to put her.”

  
“Take her back.” He mumbled.

Simmons sighed, he hoped the boys would go along with the fostering.

  
“Dex, I promise as soon as I figure out where to take her, she’ll be gone. Just cut me a break right now. I don’t know what else to do.”

  
Dex flopped down on his bed with a book and turned his back on his Dad. This was the first time Simmons saw him act like this. He didn’t know what else to say to Dex, so he left.

  
Maddie woke up and was crying again. Simmons went to her. She needed her diaper changed. He made an area in the bathroom to change her, then he settled with her in the living room and tried rocking her back to sleep.

  
Grif was in Mira’s room trying to remember how to assemble a crib. Mira was determined to help, and the between the two of them, they had a big mess. Simmons knew he would be in there next to put it together properly.

  
Jacob silently took in the scene. All of Simmons’ time since he’d been home was taken up by Maddie. He even kicked Jacob out of his own room. He liked being near Mira, especially in the middle of the night, he liked having someone near him.

  
Dex would snore and toss and turn all night. Jacob would never get any sleep. And all his toys and clothes were in his old room. Dex’s room wouldn’t be big enough. Jacob felt like he was being kicked out of his family to make room for the new baby. He wanted to cry.

  
When Maddie fell back to sleep, Simmons was able to sneak away to help with the crib. He laughed when he saw how badly Grif and Mira were going with it.

  
“I can’t believe you don’t remember how to assemble one of these.”

  
“Hey, lay off loser, it’s been awhile since the twins were babies. We don’t exactly have an instruction manual for this thing.”

  
Ten minutes later, Simmons had the crib ready for Maddie. Grif made a face at him and went to head for his own bedroom. He was exhausted.

  
Simmons managed to lay Maddie down in her new bed without waking her up. Mira made sure she had the teddy bear that she liked in with her.

  
He whispered. “Can you get ready for bed quietly, and not wake her up?”

  
Mira tried to whisper, but it still came out too loud. “Okay Daddy.” Maddie stirred, but didn’t wake up. Simmons gave Mira a kiss goodnight.

  
“Thank you for helping me out today. Sleep tight honey.”

  
“You’re welcome Daddy, ‘night.” Her cheeks were all pink, she was happy being able to help out.

  
When Grif got to the bedroom, he had a big surprise. Jacob was sitting on his side of the bed, crying his eyes out.

  
“Jakey, what’s wrong?” Grif sat beside him and held him close.

  
“What did I do wrong that Daddy doesn’t want me anymore?”

  
“Jake, of course he still wants you.”

  
“No he doesn’t, he took everything away from me. Now that he has a new baby, he can get rid of me.”

  
“It doesn’t work like that, I would never let him get of rid you. We both love you so much. This all happened so quick, we didn’t think things through, that’s all it is.”

  
He still clung to Grif and cried. Grif figured he was better off getting it out of his system, so he let Jacob cry it out.

  
Simmons came in and saw his son all upset. He sat by them on the bed. Grif looked up at him. “Now look what you’ve done. You upset him.”

  
“Jake, What did I do?”

  
“Why do you have to kick me out of my room? I want to stay with Mira.”

  
“Honey, it’s only because she made friends with the baby. With Mira nearby, she won’t be as scared. I thought you’d be just as happy bunking with Dex, you two are buddies.”

  
“You’ve been with her all day. You’re my Daddy, not hers.” He burst into tears again.

  
Simmons held him and kissed his forehead. “I know honey, you’re my little boy. You’re so special to me, she’d never take your place. You don’t have to be jealous of her, she’ll only be here a short time.”

  
He cried in Simmons’ arms until he was worn out. He picked up the nearly sleeping child and took him to his brother’s room. Dex was almost asleep, he was sniffling and his eyes looked red from crying.

  
Simmons tucked Jacob in bed and went to do the same for Dex. He whispered to him. “I’m really sorry over all of this buddy.”

  
Dex nodded. “I’m sorry too. I love you Dad.”

  
“I love you too.” He gave him a kiss goodnight. “Try to get some sleep. It’ll be better in the morning.”

  
He double checked on the girls. They were both asleep. He felt better knowing the kids were a little happier. He could at least sleep tonight without his conscience bothering him.

  
If only he could make it through the night without another catastrophe…

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

Maddie made it to 2am. Simmons expected her to cry at some point during the night. She was still a young baby, he could understand that. But when she cried, it was no normal crying. She screamed the entire house awake.

  
Simmons jumped up, nearly falling out of the bed. It sounded like a scream of distress, he went running to her. He was aware that Grif was behind him. He made it to Maddie first.

  
She wasn’t in danger, though she was screaming and crying so much, her face was red, she could hardly breath. She clung to Simmons and kept screaming, “No No!”

Her pulse was racing, she was terrified of something. Simmons had no idea what.

  
Grif was so groggy, he couldn’t even think straight. “What the hell is going on? What is she screaming about?”

  
Simmons was close to tears himself, he didn’t know what to do for her. “I have no idea. She’s scared of something.”

  
Mira was in her bed, huddled as close as she could to the wall. She was crying, she didn’t know what to think. Grif was desperately trying to wake up, he noticed Mira was scared and went to her.

  
Simmons took Maddie from the room and into his own bedroom. He cuddled her in his arms and tried to calm her down. “Shh honey, you’re okay, nothing’s going to hurt you. Calm down.”

  
She clung to him. Her screams slowed down to hysteric crying. She still kept a grip on Simmons. She felt safer with him there.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, she cried herself back to sleep. He tucked her in the middle of his bed and went to check on his three kids.

  
Grif had all the kids huddled together in Dex’s room. The twins were in Grif’s arms, shaking in fear. Dex was trying to be brave, but he had ahold of Grif’s arm. All four of them looked at Simmons when he walked in the room.

  
They didn’t have to remind him that this was all his fault. “I know guys, don’t even say it.”

  
Grif glared. “What the hell was that about?”

  
“It had to be a night terror.”

  
“No, I have night terrors flashing back to almost getting killed by the damned Meta. Hers was worse than mine. Something major had to have happened to that kid.”

  
Simmons shrugged. “I have no idea. Kimball was never very clear on her history.”

  
“I think you better find out. She may need more help than we are qualified to give her. You sure as hell can’t keep having your own kids scared every night because of her.”

  
“I know, I feel bad guys.”

  
“Maddie is a sweet kid, she will come out of her shell, it’s nothing personal to her, but take her back. It’s for everyone’s sake.”

  
Simmons nodded his head in defeat. “I’ll take her to Kimball’s office in the morning.” He went back to his bedroom to check on Maddie.

  
She was awake again. She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. She reached up for him. “Scared.” Those big blue eyes looked so sad.

  
He sat on bed beside her. “Scared of what Maddie? Can you tell me?”

  
She leaned against him. “Scared.” That’s all she would say. Simmons noticed a mark on her arm. He pulled up her sleeve so he could see it better. It was a faint mark, it looked like a burn mark. He looked closer, she had a few more just like it.

  
“You were abused, weren’t you? Who did that to you?”

  
She couldn’t answer, she cuddled closer to him. “Don’t go, Scared.”

  
“No honey, I won’t leave you. No one’s going to hurt you. You’re safe here.”

  
Grif came in the room. “I got the kids calmed down. They’re all bunking in Dex’s room together for the night.”

  
Maddie froze at the sight of Grif. Her eyes got big with fear. She trembled a little. Grif stopped in his tracks, he leaned down so she could see it was him.

  
“Hey kiddo, it’s me, you know I won’t hurt you.” She remembered who Grif was. She calmed back down.

  
“I found some old scars on her arm, I think it’s safe to say she was abused. Quite badly too, they look like burns. I bet it was her father who hurt her, that’s why she was so afraid of you at first.”

  
Grif felt bad. “Poor kid. Why would anyone want to hurt a little baby like that? Maybe that was a good thing for the parents to put her up for adoption.”

  
“Yeah I guess so.” He was stroking her blond waves of hair to calm her down. “This isn’t fair to her. She deserves to have her forever home and do she can heal. Being passed around from home to home like this isn’t going to help her any.”

  
He gave Grif a hopeful look.

“No way. Don’t even think about it.”

  
Simmons gave in quickly. “Yeah I know we can’t. I wonder if meeting Wash might help her. There’s nothing intimidating about him. Maybe that will help her see that not everyone is going to hurt her.”

  
“Maybe, or send her into more hysterics. There’s no in betweens with this kid.”

  
“Let’s just go to sleep and see how it goes with Kimball in the morning. Then we’ll decide for sure what to do for her.”

  
Grif climbed into bed on the other side of Maddie. He expected her to cry or protest, but she let him. As the three settled down she sleep, she cuddled closer to him than she did to Simmons.

  
Later that night, she got fussy again. Her hand bumped Grif’s face. He had forgotten she was there.

She needed her diaper changed. He looked over at Simmons, he was snoring softly. Grif didn’t have the heart to wake him.

  
“Come on kiddo, I’ll help you out.”

  
He got her a fresh diaper and sat with her a little so she could get tired. She looked shyly at him and reached up to finger one of his thick black curls.

  
“Daddy?” Her voice was so tiny, Grif could hardly hear it.

  
He was flattered but he had to shake his head. “No, I’m sorry kiddo, I’d love to keep you, but we can’t. Somewhere out there is the perfect home for you where you’ll be safe, and I’ll help you find it. If anyone ever hurts you again, I’ll kick their butt. How about that?”

  
She gave him a big smile, she seemed to understand. “Let’s get back to bed now.”

  
Simmons stirred when they came back. “Is she okay Grif?”

  
“She’s fine, I took care of it.” He laid her down in between them again.

  
“Thanks Grif.” He was dozing back off again.

  
Maddie snuggled against Grif and couldn’t help but put his arm around and hold her close.

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

“Outta the way nerd. I call dibs on that pot of coffee.” Grif pushed Simmons out of his way.

  
“Hey, I’m the one way that made it.”

  
“Tough, it’s your fault I was up half the night. You owe me.”

  
Dex looked up from his bowl of cereal and yawned. “How old do I have to be to get some coffee?”

  
Grif loaded his coffee with cream and sugar. “When you’re about twenty. You’re young, you shouldn’t need it.”

  
“I had those two keeping me up all night.” He pointed to Jake and Mira.

  
Mira was on the defense. “You were the one who was snoring all night.” She reached across the table to hit him. She nearly spilled her glass of milk.

  
“I had to do something to drown out all the talking you do in your sleep.” He hit her back on the arm.

  
Simmons was tired and not in the mood. “Dex, don’t hit your sister.”

  
“But Dad, she started it. She’s not innocent.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

  
“I’m yelling at both of you. No hitting anybody at the breakfast table. Is that better?”

  
Jacob felt left out. “But what about me?”

  
Mira was more than willing to help  
out her twin. “You kept hogging the bed all night. I almost fell out.”

  
Jacob looked happy. Even Simmons had to smile over how his kids fought.

Maddie finished her breakfast and struggled to get out of the high chair. Simmons let her loose so she could explore the living room. She was good at crawling, but had issues with walking.

  
“She’s so far behind for her age. She should be walking and talking a lot better than she is by now.” Simmons was trying not to be too concerned.

  
“I’ll go help her Daddy.” Mira jumped up from the table. Her cup of milk spilled and splashed on Jacob. Simmons rushed with a towel to catch the mess.

  
“Mira, settle down, you didn’t even finish your cereal.” He cleaned off Jake’s glasses for him.

  
“I’m all done with it.” She wasn’t listening anymore, she was on the mission to teach Maddie to walk.

  
Grif chuckled. “Why try to fight it, she’s too hyper.”

  
Simmons glared lightly at him as he cleaned up the milk. “Would it hurt you to discipline her once in a while?”

  
“Me? She gets that nervous energy from you, not me.”

  
Simmons handed Jake back his newly cleaned glasses. “There you go.” He saw Jake watching Mira play with Maddie. The twins had always played together before Maddie came. “Why don’t you go join them?”

  
Jacob shook his head. “Maddie doesn’t like me. She’ll only cry if I go near her.”

  
Simmons gave him a nudge. “She’s getting better at knowing us, why don’t you give her another chance?”

  
Jacob still wouldn’t move, Mira had to convince him. “C’mon Jake, I need your help to teach Maddie.” She held out her hand to him.

  
He felt better knowing his sister still wanted him. As he got closer, Maddie froze up a little, but she soon figured out that Jacob wasn’t scary.

  
Maddie was at the point where she take a few steps before falling over. Mira held her hands so she could walk further before falling.

  
“Jake, go stand by the couch and catch Maddie when she comes near.”

  
After a few failed attempts, Maddie had improved her walking skills. Mira and Jake played with her almost all morning. Mira wanted to show it off to Simmons.

  
“Here Daddy, look what she can do.” Maddie walked from Mira to Simmons and didn’t fall once. He was very impressed with Mira’s teaching skills.

  
“Good job guys.” He picked Maddie up. “She has a physical today with Dr. Grey, if you guys want to go, you can.”

  
Jacob got pale and backed away. “No way, no doctors; I’m good.” It seemed like all of his encounters with the doctor involved him getting a shot. He didn’t know why Mira was friends with her.

  
“Okay, Mira you want to go see your friend?”

  
She smiled. “Yep, let’s go.”

 

 

Once inside the doctor’s office, Maddie clung to Simmons. She didn’t know why they were there, but she didn’t like it.

  
Dr. Grey made her typical noisy entrance. She didn’t think anything of it. It startled her when she heard Maddie give a little scream. “Oh no, I’m sorry honey.”

  
Maddie buried her head against Simmons’ chest and wouldn’t look at the doctor. That didn’t stop Dr. Grey, she put her hand on Maddie’s shoulder and gently tried to get her attention.

“Oh, come on now. I’m not that bad am I?”

  
Mira got Maddie’s attention. “The doctor’s my friend Maddie, she’s nice.”

  
Maddie turned to look at her. She had tears streaming down her face. Dr. Grey gasped when she saw those sad blue eyes. For the first time Simmons realized that the doctor’s violet blue eyes looked just as sad.

  
She kept up such a cheery and optimistic attitude, it was easy to forget all the hell she had gone through because of the Great War. She lost her entire family and was almost killed herself.

  
Working as a military doctor during the Civil War that followed, she watched all of her friends die. Including General Doyle who was like a father to her. She and Maddie had a lot in common.

  
Dr. Grey took a tissue and wiped away Maddie’s tears. “Better now, sweetie pie? Can I give you your physical now?”

  
Maddie willingly reached for her. Simmons was amazed at the difference in the baby. “I’m sorry she was so scared of you at first.”

  
Grey laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve have grown men screaming like that at me while I’m trying to treat them. I’m used to it. I’ve gotta say besides Mira, Maddie is becoming my favorite patient.”

  
“We noticed these marks in her arm last night. They look like burns.”

  
“Yeah, it looks like a cigar burn. She has more too on her other arm. On her back there are some old bruises. My god, it’s like someone beat her up. No wonder she’s scared.”

  
“She’s especially scared of guys, so I think it was her father. She may be autistic or or from the abuse. Her motor, verbal, and social skills are behind.”

  
“That’s probably a mix of both. If she is autistic, that may be why she was abused, because she didn’t understand.”

  
“She’s been mimicking Mira. That’s how she’s been learning.”

  
Grey laughed. “Are you being a good big sister to Maddie?”

  
Mira gave a big smile. “Yep, we’re good friends. I like having a sister.”

  
“That’s my girl.” She turned to Maddie. “Alrightie sweetie, you’re all done. Thank you for being such a good girl. Simmons, besides the emotional stuff, she’s perfectly healthy. There’s no reason she can’t fully recover and be a happy baby.”

  
“That’ll be good news for whoever adopts her.”

  
Grey frowned at him. “You mean you’re not adopting her?”

  
“No, I wish we could, but I can’t handle four kids right now. I’m actually heading over to Kimball’s to give her back.”

  
Grey gave him a critical look, she didn’t approve of that. She seemed totally lost in her own thoughts. It made Simmons uncomfortable, he wanted to leave. “Well I’ll be seeing you.”

  
He took Maddie. She didn’t want to go at first, she kept looking at Dr. Grey. Simmons almost had to force her to leave.

  
Maddie waved goodbye to the doctor, she came back reality. “Bye bye sweetie.”

  
Simmons really didn’t want to take Maddie back to Kimball. If only there was some better solution.

 

  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

 

“Daddy, don’t do it. Don’t give Maddie away!” Mira was nearly in tears. If Simmons felt bad before, now he felt terrible.

  
“Mira, I’m sorry, but this is for her own good. The longer she stays, the more attached she’ll get to us.”

  
“Then let her stay.”

  
“I can’t. I have to go back to work tomorrow, I’m behind at the office as it is. I can’t exactly drop her off at day care. If there was any way we could keep her, I would do it.”

  
“But she already loves us. Shouldn’t there be a way?”

  
“I wish it was that easy honey.”

  
Maddie kept looking at him and Mira. She knew something was wrong and she was trying to understand what it was.

  
When he walked into Kimball’s office, Simmons felt a sense of doom. He had two children that weren’t happy with him.

If he gave Maddie back to Kimball, his conscience would hate him. If he took her back home, his husband would hate him. Either way, he was stuck.

  
Kimball frowned slightly when she saw Simmons with Maddie. “I take it it’s not working out?”

  
“No, not exactly, ma’am. She has a lot of issues that are hard to deal with.”

  
“I understand. At least we tried. She’ll probably go back to the orphanage and just hope that somebody can look past her problems.”

  
“A lot of her problems was that she was badly abused. Grif and I noticed burn marks on her arms and Dr. Grey found a lot of healing bruises on her back. Someone needs to be arrested for child abuse.”

  
“I’ll look into what is known about her parents. It may take some time, but we’ll bring them to justice. Thank you for noticing it.”

  
She reached over to take Maddie. She stiffened up and didn’t want to leave Simmons’ arms. She looked up at him with sadness and desperation.

  
“No, love you. Don’t go.”She burst into tears. Simmons felt his heart breaking. Mira was right, Maddie couldn’t leave. The problem was she couldn’t stay. He hesitated giving her to Kimball.

  
“Everything okay Simmons?”

  
“No, I don’t make another mistake. I’ll never forgive myself if I send her back to that orphanage. I’ll let her stay just a little bit longer. Maybe I can work at home while she naps.”

  
Kimball smiled at him. “I knew I picked the right soldier for the job. Don’t worry, I will try to place her in her permanent home as soon as I can find one suitable.”

  
Simmons nodded, he couldn’t feel much of anything. Mira gave him a knowing grin. “I knew you couldn’t do it Daddy.”

  
“I hope you know when we get home, it’s your job to tell your Dad why we still have Maddie with us.”

 

 

“I’m not mad, I really don’t mind the kid. It’s just that I don’t do well with change, you know that.”

  
“Next time, you can be the one to run her down to Kimball’s and see if you have it in you to send her to an orphanage that she hates.”

  
“All right, all right. I said I wasn’t blaming you, so let it go.”

  
Maddie looked at Grif all concerned, she knew he wasn’t happy. She toddled over to him. She had the teddy bear that Mira gave her in her hand. She gave it to him.

He was so surprised, he forgot he was angry. “Thank you kiddo, I appreciate how much you care.”

  
She felt she had done her job to cheer Grif up, so she went to find something else to play with.

  
There was a loud knocking at the door. Grif opened it. “Tucker, what the hell? You usually just barge in anymore, why are you knocking?”

  
“Because I have manners, you loser.”

  
Wash followed behind with Chloe and David, shaking his head over his husband’s annoying enthusiasm. “I tried to tell him not to bug you guys, but you can see how well that worked out.” He rolled his eyes.

  
Tucker ignored his sarcasm. “Did Simmons take the little girl back?”

  
“He did, but he chickened out. You know what a kiss ass he is for authority. It’s not like he would have told Kimball no.”

  
“Why didn’t you guys come to me in the first place? I’m a professional with kids, I could have handled it for you.”

  
Simmons frowned. “No, I don’t think so Tucker. She’s pretty much afraid of everyone, at least until she gets to know them. She’s especially afraid of guys.”

  
Tucker wouldn’t believe it. “Hey, if she could tolerate you idiots, she’ll love me.”

  
Simmons went to get her. Tucker rushed in before Simmons could warn Maddie. He got up in her face, that’s what always scared her. She let out a little scream. She startled Tucker, who almost yelled.

  
Simmons cringed. “I told you so. Why didn’t you give her some time?”

  
Chloe was giggling. “Gee Dad, you really charmed her.”

  
“Okay, so I didn’t think it through. Sue me.” Tucker tried again to make friends with Maddie. “Hi sweetie, sorry I scared you.”

  
He tried to touch her arm, she ignored him. She hid her face on Simmons’ shoulder and pretended she didn’t like him. She kept taking little perks at him, but wouldn’t admit that she liked him.

  
Tucker chuckled. “All right, I see what you’re doing you little faker.”

  
Maddie turned her attention to Wash. She liked him right away. She gave him a smile.

Tucker tried not to be jealous. “Hey she likes you babe. You know, we could solve Simmons’ problem and foster her ourselves.”

  
“No way Tucker, you have this way of jumping into crazy ideas without thinking them through first.”

  
Grif nodded. “Exactly, Cause he’s a moron.”

  
“What’s there to think about? We take her home for a while and love her, problem solved.”

  
“In case you forget, Chloe was only supposed to be around for one night. David was an emergency call to calm down a screaming newborn. They’re still here with us, if you take that baby home, you’ll never be able to give her up.”

  
Tucker shrugged. “If she likes us, we could keep her, what does that hurt?”

  
“ I rearranged my whole life for our two kids. I waited for David to be old enough so I could go back to work. If we take Maddie home, I’ll be the one taking care of her, there goes my military career again. So no, you’re not fostering her.”

  
Tucker was disappointed. He hung his head, but he knew what Wash said was true. “Sorry Wash.” He tousled Maddie’s hair. She finally focused her attention on him. “Sorry Maddie, I tried. I would have liked being your father.”

  
Maddie looked at Tucker then at Wash. She looked so sad. Simmons really did believe she knew that nobody wanted her. It broke his heart to see her look like that. He cuddled her closer.

  
He whispered to her. “No matter what happens Maddie, I’ll always love you.”

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

Tucker tried to think of a game that all six kids could play. “It’s really nice outside, Maddie won’t be able up swing, but what about the sandbox?”

  
Simmons wasn’t too sure. “I don’t know Tucker, she doesn’t seem to get the concept of playing yet.”

  
“That’s exactly why we have to take her outside and make sure she plays with the kids. How else is she gonna learn?”

  
“Alright, let’s get the kids rounded up.”

  
With Chloe being the oldest, she and Mira were helping Maddie to walk outside. She grabbed ahold of each of their hands and happily toddled beside them. She only stumbled a few times.

  
Chloe couldn’t help bragging. “Look Dad, I’m a pro at working with kids just like you are.”

  
She sounded so much like Tucker that Wash groaned. “Oh lord, the older she gets, the more she sounds like her Dad.”

  
Simmons chuckled over it. “Don’t worry, I can relate. I’m having the same problem with Dex looking and acting more like Grif every year.”

  
Maddie wasn’t sure about the sand, she was scared to touch it. Mira sat beside her and played with the sand. “See, it’s not hurting me. It’s fun, you’ll like it.”

  
Maddie touched the sand with one finger, nothing bad happened, she smiled and tried her whole hand.

Mira was proud. “Look Daddy, she’s playing. She likes it.”

  
Simmons smiled. “Good job Maddie.” The more he encouraged her, the more excited she got.

  
Dex and Jake were already building a sandcastle, Chloe went to help, but Mira wouldn’t go in until Maddie was okay with the sand. Little David couldn’t understand why Maddie was so afraid of it.

  
“Jump right in, it’s more fun that way.”

  
Wash stepped in. “No buddy, Maddie has some problems. She has to do it on her own time.”

  
David still didn’t understand. He grabbed two huge handfuls of sand and threw it on Maddie. She cried in terror, this wasn’t what she had in mind. It scared David and cried along with her.

  
Wash scooped up David. “Why did you throw sand on Maddie?” He had a serious tone to his voice.

  
He still cried. “I only wanted to help.”

  
“What did I tell you? You needed to wait for her to be ready.”

  
“Sorry Daddy, I didn’t mean to make her cry.” His crying calmed down.

  
Wash slowly set him down. “Then next time, listen to me.”

  
Tucker picked up Maddie and brushed off the sand. “It’s okay honey, David didn’t mean it. Your brothers are over there making a castle, you wanna check it out with me?”

  
She stopped crying. “Uh-Huh.” She let Tucker carry her to the middle of the sandbox.

  
“Here guys Maddie wants to play too.”

She watched for a while, then she wanted to help. She didn’t have good control over her hands, and she crushed the sand castle the kids worked so hard on.

  
Dex was upset. “Maddie, how could you wreck it? It’s not fair, take her back. We don’t need her.” He went to the swings to sit and pout.

  
Maddie was crying for real, only Simmons could comfort her. He walked her around the yard talking softly to her. “It was an accident. Dex didn’t mean to yell at you. We all still love you honey.” She cried harder.

  
Grif went to Dex. “Hey, believe me I know how you feel, but this ain’t easy for that kid either. She’s been passed around from family to family and no one wants her. Your Dad and I have wanted you kids every second of your lives. We’re not perfect parents, but you need to be thankful that you’re not like Maddie.”

  
He leaned against Grif. “Sorry Dad.”

  
“It’s okay, just try to be a little easier on her.”

  
Grif heard a high pitch screech. “Heeeloo, anybody home?” He cringed, he recognized Dr. Grey’s mouth.

  
Simmons answered her, the two have always been friends. “Yeah, we’re outside with the kids.”

  
She stepped out in the yard. “Whoo, ya got a party going on here?”

  
She was already annoying Grif. “Yep, something like that.”

  
Simmons came over with Maddie. She calmed down at the sound of Grey’s voice. “This is Maddie’s first play date with other kids .”

  
“Aww how fun! Actually Maddie is the reason I came to see you.” She gently squished her cheek. “Hi there sweetie pie.”

  
She squirmed to get loose so she could go to her. She wrapped her arms around the doctor’s waist and stared adoringly up at her. Grey put her arms around her and held her tight.

  
She looked seriously at Simmons. “I went to Kimball’s office shortly after you guys left. She said you changed your mind and took Maddie back home. Have you reconsidered adopting her?”

  
“No, I just couldn’t stand the thought of taking her back to that orphanage. There doesn’t seem to be anywhere for her to go.”

  
She took a deep breath. “Okay, get ready for your solution. I’ll adopt her.”

  
“Are you serious? I never considered you wanting to adopt a baby.”

  
“Yeah I know, me either! When I met Maddie, I had an amazing brain storm. It was way superior to any I’ve ever had. So hey, I gotta go for it!”

  
“Uh, how do you plan on caring for her while you’re working? This is a big step, did you think it all through?”

  
“Yes of course, I have a game plan already worked out. I’ve been looking for a reason to cut my hours, so here it is. Some of my nurses can help with babysitting and I can put a playpen in the office so she can hang out with me. She’ll get to meet all kinds of strangers.”

  
Simmons was impressed. “Wow, you did think it through.”

  
She scoffed. “Of course, with an IQ Of 240, I know what I’m doing. Most importantly, we were both lonely, so now we have each other. I think it was meant to be.” She knelt in front if the baby. “What do you think, you wanna be my daughter?”

  
She looked seriously into Dr. Grey’s eyes. “Momma?”

  
“Yes sweetie, I’ll be your momma. I’ll never leave you.” She gave her a hug and a kiss.

  
Simmons was so relieved. “We got plenty of baby stuff for you to take. Plus you have instant babysitters. She already knows us.”

  
Grif got involved. “Just a heads up, she has a crib, but she may not use it. Don’t be expecting much sleep for awhile.”

  
Grey smiled. “That’s fine by me.”

  
Simmons took a minute to say good bye to Maddie. She drove him crazy, but he got really attached to that little girl.

  
“Well honey, I found you a home, this one will be a good one. No one will ever hurt you again. We can still see each other all the time.”

  
Grey picked her to get her baby stuff and make it to her new home.

Simmons tried not to cry. Grif came up behind him.

  
“Hey, you okay there?

  
He wiped away the tears. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  
“Uh-Huh, you did a real good thing for that kid, I’m proud of you. Let’s go hang out with our three disasters.”

  
He put his arm around Grif and went to get his kids. As crazy and dysfunctional as they were, they were his perfect family.  
  
  



End file.
